A Mother's Guide to Raising Fine Pre-teens-4

Is your kid finding it difficult to make friends? Friendship is such an important relationship in every kid’s life. In a way, it completes them. But what could be the reason for a few kids finding it difficult to make friends? Dear Concerned Mother, your search ends here – solve this puzzle and help your kid make new friends.

Challenge #4: Nurturing Friendliness

Tip #1:

Ensure he isn’t being bullied at school or in the playground. This might be another reason why he doesn’t want to come out of his shell and make new friends. He fears they too will bully him.

Dear Mother, children are naturally friendly. Hence, if their behavior indicates they don't want to mingle with other kids, it might be a sign of stress. The case with William could be that he is missing his old friends or probably is finding it difficult to adjust to a new place. Instead of taking him to hundreds of doctors and administering just as many medicines, just make him do pranayama (simple breathing techniques) in addition to providing him a happy and caring environment.

Did you know that breath is the key to a healthy and happy life? The Art Excel course, designed especially for your kid, teaches the art of maintaining good health through breathing. It will also give critical exposure to your kid as he gets to interact with a lot of other kids like or unlike him, and gets to do lots of fun activities and make merry.

How Meditation Helps?

TIP#2:

At times, you can make extra food for your kid’s lunch and urge him to share it with his friends. The door to making new friends can open with something as simple as extra lunch!

As a mother, it is very important that you be sensitive to his needs and behavior. Even if you have limited time to spend with your child, make it very fruitful. Meditation is a good way to allow that sensitivity to fully blossom in you. It will also help you take up issues with your kid in the right spirit. Would you expect your child to open up to you when you approach him with a tense look? Allow yourself to be patient enough to listen to what he has to say, even if he takes some time to disclose his problems to you.

To Moms, With Love…

Bringing to you celebrated moments of motherhood that a mom would love to share…

Friends are like the anchors of childhood. They are your accomplices in crime, your homework buddies, your competitors in racing, and your confidants. They are one of the best things that can happen to you. How then could Neeta afford to let her son, Shaurya, seclude himself from talking to kids around him—at school and at the bus stop. Neeta thought hard and then came up with an amazing plan – the "What do you see" game.

Every morning, when Neeta would go to drop Shaurya at the bus stop, he’d refuse to step out of the car till the bus arrived. If forced, he’d start crying. So strong was his aversion that he’d want his mom by his side and wouldn’t let her get out of the car. Neeta, for obvious reasons, was worried and had to find a solution. She thought of a game where Shaurya had to construct a grammatically correct sentence, telling what he saw around him. If he did not do so correctly or if he repeated what the other child had said, he'd be out. Initially, Shaurya hesitated to play and so Mumma decided that she’ll go and play this game with the other kids. It was only natural for Shaurya to get jealous watching the other kids play with his mom, so he had no choice but to get out of the car and join the clan. The game did the trick and Shaurya found his new friends.

Now the kids are always excited to meet Neeta Aunty and Shaurya and urge their moms to come to the bus stop ten minutes earlier than usual so that they can play their favorite game. To keep the kids interested, Neeta comes up with new games every month. All the kids and their mums also planned a fun vacation to Jurrasic Water Park in their city. What fun!

Take to a Sahaj Samadhi Course and be the mom you’ve always aspired to be.

Is food your kid’s first love? Is your kid’s obesity bothering you? Drop your botheration. We are coming up with a solution to your problem in the sequel to this article.

Do you have an experience of adventure, wit, and inspiration to share? We'd love to hear your side of the story and share it with our readers. Write to us at webteam.meditation@artofliving.org.

Author: Ravisha Kathuria

Ravisha Kathuria, a passionate writer, has just begun dabbling in the world of words. Through her articles, she conveys the beauty of the ancient knowledge of meditation in its simplest form that are easy takeaways for the readers.

The author has written this article based on meditation inputs by Bharathy Harish, Sahaj Samadhi Meditation Teacher